PelYYW  vv  3 P 


A BRIEF  SKETCH 


of  the 

RECORD  OF  THE  AMERICAN 
NEGRO  AND  INDIAN 

in  the 

GREAT  WAR 


REPORT  OF  THE 

Committee  on  Information  of  the 
BOSTON  HAMPTON  COMMITTEE 

MARCH,  1919 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/briefsketchofrecOObost 


A Brief  Sketch  of  the  Record  of  the 
American  Negro 
and  Indian  in  the  Great  War 

In  trying  to  learn  what  the  war  record  of  the  Xegro  at  home  and 
abroad  has  been,  I think,  apart  from  his  actual  record  on  the  battlefield, 
that  what  has  seemed  the  most  interesting  feature  of  it  has  been  the 
constant  evidence  of  the  place  which  Hampton  has  filled  in  the  tremen- 
dous task  which  this  country  set  itself  to  do.  The  most  practical  proofs 
of  this  have  been,  of  course,  the  Hampton  men  who  have  been  in  the 
service.  There  have  been  766  graduates  and  ex-students  of  Hampton 
in  the  army  and  navy,  722  of  them  Negroes  and  44  Indians;  and  of  the 
Negroes,  41  received  commissions  at  the  various  camps  for  colored 
officers  throughout  the  country. 

Shortly  after  the  plan  for  raising  a National  Army  was  made,  a call 
was  sent  to  the  trade  schools,  like  Hampton,  Tuskegee,  etc.,  for  volun- 
teers for  an  engineer  regiment  to  be  trained  at  Camp  Sherman,  as  part 
of  the  92d  Division;  and  to  this  call  35  Hampton  students  at  once  re- 
sponded, and  became  later  a part  of  the  317th  Engineers.  Another  proof 
of  Hampton’s  value  to  the  country  in  war  time  was  the  contract  made 
with  it  by  the  War  Department  to  give  a two  months’  intensive  course 
in  such  war-emergency  trades  as  blacksmithing,  carpentry,  machine  and 
electrical  work,  with  military  training  as  well;  and  as  a result,  551  men 
were  graduated  from  this  course  in  the  summer  of  1917.  And  in  October 
of  this  last  year,  Hampton,  like  all  other  colleges  and  institutes  of  its 
standing,  became  one  of  the  camps  for  the  Student  Army  Training  Corps, 
and  has  not,  perhaps,  had  quite  as  difficult  a time  as  the  colleges  in  getting 
readjusted  to  a peace-time  program. 

In  enlisting  and  stimulating  public  opinion  and  interest  at  home  — a 
work  just  as  important  as  that  accomplished  by  the  men  on  the  battle- 
field— Hampton  has  played  its  part.  Two  of  the  men  selected  by  the 
War  Department  and  the  Committee  on  Public  Information  to  present 
the  country's  war  aims  to  the  Negro  were  Major  Allen  Washington  and 
Major  Moton,  who,  though  now  the  principal  of  Tuskegee,  mav  still,  I 
think,  be  claimed  as  Hampton’s  own.  These  men  attended  a meeting  in 
Washington  in  July,  to  consider,  with  press  representatives  and  other 
leaders  of  Southern  opinion,  methods  by  which  Negroes  might  best 
assist  in  winning  the  war.  The  results  were  many,  so  many  that  I cannot 


here  enumerate  them ; but  I think  we  may  fairly  claim  that  the  success 
of  the  Liberty  Loan  Campaigns,  the  work  of  the  Negro  home  demonstra- 
tion agents  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  to  spur  on  the  Negro  to 
greater  food  production,  the  training  of  colored  Red  Cross  nurses,  and 
the  spreading  of  the  idea  of  unselfish  service  among  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  Negroes,  many  of  whom  have  serious  grievances  against  the 
government  or  the  community,  were  in  great  measure  due  to  the  earnest 
and  devoted  work  of  these  men  and  others  of  their  type. 

And  Major  Moton  has  given  us  fresh  proof  of  his  far-seeing  judg- 
ment, and  has  shown  us  that  he  has  been  looking  forward  to  and  preparing 
for  the  return  of  the  men  from  France,  when  he  tells  us  that  he  has 
spoken  to  the  men  in  their  camps  over  there,  as  well  as  to  the  communities 
here,  on  the  proper  attitude  all  should  take  during  the  period  of  recon- 
struction. These  men  are  coming  back  covered  with  honors,  having 
played  their  part  nobly,  and  the  communities  to  which  they  come  should 
be  proud  of  them  and  give  them  fairer  treatment  than  they  have  had 
hitherto.  And  the  men  themselves,  who  have  been  lauded  and  feted  and 
treated  by  the  French  people,  and  particularly  by  the  French  women, 
in  a way  quite  unusual  to  them,  must  keep  their  heads  and  live  up  to  the 
high  reputation  they  have  made  for  themselves  and  their  country.  If 
both  whites  and  blacks  have  these  feelings,  relations  between  them  cannot 
help  but  be  far  more  harmonious  than  in  the  past,  and  a real  step  forward 
will  have  been  made  towards  the  ideals  for  which  the  whole  world  has 
been  fighting. 

I spoke  last  year  of  the  enthusiasm  which  the  Indians  showed  on  our 
entering  the  world  war.  It  seemed  as  if  the  warrior  spirit  had  revived 
in  them,  and  many  of  those  too  old  for  service  were  most  eager  to  enter 
the  fight.  It  was  hoped  by  many  of  them  that  separate  units  of  Indian 
troops  might  be  formed,  but  that  proved  to  be  impossible,  owing  to  their 
relatively  small  numbers  and  lack  of  training  in  certain  branches  of  the 
service.  However,  before  we  entered  the  war,  12,000  Indians  enlisted 
in  the  Canadian  Army  and  went  overseas,  thrilled  at  the  prospect  of 
defending  the  British  Empire;  and  with  them  went  some  of  the  graduates 
of  the  Indian  schools  of  this  country,  many  of  whom,  being  wards  of 
this  nation,  not  citizens,  could  not  be  drafted.  And  in  our  own  regular 
and  national  armies,  scores  of  Indians  have  held  responsible  positions 
to  the  rank  of  major,  and  every  branch  of  the  service  has  appealed  to 
them,  from  positions  as  bakers  and  chauffeurs  to  positions  in  the  line, 
the  aviation  service,  the  navy,  the  marines,  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  If,  as 
is  estimated,  there  were  5,000  Indians  serving  in  our  forces,  it  means 
that  one  out  of  fifty  has  pledged  his  life  to  defend  the  principles  of 
liberty  and  humanity  for  which  our  country  entered  the  war.  They 
trained  at  Fort  Hancock,  Fort  Dodge,  Cam])  Custer,  Jackson,  Meigs, 
Wadsworth,  Kearney,  and  Camp  Gailliard  in  Panama. 


Various  picturesque  stories  are  told  about  the  departure  of  these 
Indian  warriors  from  their  homes,  to  enter  into  their  country's  service. 

INDIAN  PATRIOTISM 

A recent  number  of  the  Indian  Leader,  published  at  Haskell  Institute, 
Lawrence,  Kansas,  gives  a vivid  account  of  an  interesting  patriotic 
demonstration  at  Bullhead,  South  Dakota,  on  December  n,  when  seven 
full-blooded  volunteers  left  their  homes  to  join  the  American  forces  in  the 
war.  Bullhead  is  a little  settlement  on  the  Standing  Rock  Reservation, 
where,  a comparatively  few  years  ago,  many  of  the  hostiles  lived  who 
overcame  Custer  and  his  band,  and  not  many  miles  from  the  spot  where 
Sitting  Bull  himself  was  killed  by  United  States  Indian  police.  ‘‘Under 
the  auspices  of  the  Tokala  Lodge  and  the  White  Horse  Brigade,  the 
full-blooded  descendants  of  the  former  hostiles  and  many  of  their  sires 
gathered  here  in  a demonstration  of  loyalty  to  their  government  seldom 
equaled  anywhere. 

"Notable  participants  in  this  affair  were:  Mary  Crawler,  the  only 
woman  survivor  of  the  fight  against  Custer;  Francis  Bullhead,  son  of 
Lieutenant  Bullhead,  who  fell  in  the  final  action  against  Sitting  Bull; 
Francis  Redtomahawk,  son  of  Marcellus  Redtomahawk,  still  living,  who 
in  personal  combat  slew  Sitting  Bull;  and  Robert  P.  Higheagle,  day- 
school  teacher  at  this  station  (named  after  Lieutenant  Bullhead),  one 
of  the  most  intellectual  Indians  on  the  Reservation,  if  not  in  the  entire 
country.” 

A procession  was  formed  and  marched  to  the  town  hall,  where,  with 
Robert  Higheagle  as  chairman,  an  interesting  program  was  given,  on 
which  were  the  names  of  three  former  Hampton  students : Robert  P. 
Higheagle,  ’95  — address,  "Why  We  Are  Assembled  Here”;  Rev. 
Joseph  Whiteplume  — invocation;  and  Antoine  De  Rockbraine  — address, 
“Conservation  of  Foods  during  the  War.” 

The  Leader  adds:  "The  quota  from  this  district  of  the  former  hostiles 
is  larger  in  number  than  the  number  from  all  the  other  districts  com- 
bined; and,  in  event  of  the  continuation  of  the  war  for  some  time, 
Bullhead  will  probably  maintain  its  numerical  ascendency  in  the  sending 
of  men  as  national  defenders.  Every  one  of  these  boys  belongs  to  an 
Indian  family  of  prominence.  Once  antagonistic  to  the  government,  the 
Bullhead  Indians  present  serried  ranks  in  their  devotion  to  Uncle  Sam.” 

Another  interesting  incident  observed  by  friends  at  the  departure  of 
the  Comanche  boys  for  camp  was  the  singing  of  an  old-time  war  dirge 
by  the  women,  the  intent  of  which  was  to  urge  the  braves  on  to  battle. 
It  was  the  first  time  it  had  been  heard  in  the  memory  of  man  in  the 
Southwest. 


[5] 


One  of  the  first  Arizona  men  to  die  on  the  field  of  battle  was  a full- 
blooded  Pima  Indian  named  Matthew  B.  Juan,  who  enlisted  in  Texas 
early  in  the  war  and  survived  the  “Tuscania”  disaster.  One  regiment  of 
the  American  Expeditionary  Forces  is  reported  to  have  boasted  at  least 
twenty  famous  Indian  scouts  from  a Dakota  Reservation,  and  many  of 
their  ancestral  fighting  instincts  and  methods  have  been  extremely  use- 
ful in  modern  scout  patrolling.  It  is  reported  that  one  night  six  full- 
blooded  Indians  scouted  six  miles  into  enemy  territory,  bombed  a supper 
party  of  German  officers  with  appropriate  war  whoops,  and  returned 
in  safety.  Another  story  is  told  of  a band  of  Indians  surprising  the 
enemy  by  swimming  many  yards  under  water  and  appearing  again  a long 
distance  from  where  the  Germans  had  seen  them  disappear  under  the 
water,  and  thought  them  safely  drowned ! I quote  anecdotes  from  the 
Southern  Workman,  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  the  Brooklyn  Citizen: 

The  first  Hampton  student  to  be  wounded  in  the  war,  so  far  as  is 
known  at  the  school,  is  Robert  Big  Thunder,  a Winnebago  from  Witten- 
berg, Wisconsin.  His  father  has  recently  forwarded  a letter  from  him 
written  at  a hospital  in  France.  He  says:  “I  was  wounded  last  Friday, 
June  21,  at  five  o’clock  in  the  morning.  We  made  a rapid  raid  on  the 
Germans  early  that  morning,  at  three  o'clock,  and  chased  them  off  a big 
hill.  Our  raid  was  very  successful.  A piece  of  bursting  shrapnel  shell 
hit  me  below  my  left  eye,  cutting  my  skin,  and  went  through  my  nose. 
I shall  be  well  again,  but  am  afraid  my  left  eye  will  be  very  weak.  After 
being  wounded,  I ran  all  the  way  from  the  front  to  the  first-aid  dressing 
station  under  heavy  artillery  fire,  but  was  lucky  and  was  not  hit  by  any- 
thing. Another  fellow  came  out  with  me.  and  we  got  dressed  at  the  first- 
aid  station  and  an  auto  ambulance  hurried  us  to  the  field  hospital.  Then 
from  there  I went  to  two  other  hospitals,  getting  the  best  of  care,  and 
finally  they  shipped  us  on  a United  States  Red  Cross  hospital  train  to  this 

Base  Hospital  Xo. . I shall  be  here  till  I get  good  and  well.  It  will 

be  some  time.  Thank  God,  I was  not  killed.  I wish  I was  home  working 
on  the  farm,  hut  this  is  our  duty  and  we  must  fight  it  to  a finish;  then 
we  can  go  home  safe. 

"I've  found  out  what  war  is  now.  Gee.  it’s  quite  an  experience  to  be 
in  a war  like  this.  I ll  never  forget  the  moments  I spent  at  the  front. 
I could  hear  bullets  whistling  all  around  me  and  big  shells  from  German 
artillery  bursting  right  behind.  Some  Germans  were  up  in  the  trees 
shooting  down  on  us,  and  hand  grenades  coming  over  and  bursting  close 
to  us  hit  some  of  our  boys,  hurting  them  bad.  I was  with  one  boy  who 
could  shoot  well,  and  he  shot  down  one  of  the  Germans  in  the  tree.  One 
machine  gun  was  only  about  eight  yards  from  us,  but  they  couldn’t  see 
us.  I was  behind  four  little  trees  together,  and  shooting.  We  chased 
them  quite  a ways  and  then  I was  wounded.” 


[6] 


It  was  the  Prussian  Guard  against  the  American  Indian  the  morning 
of  October  8,  says  the  Stars  and.  Stripes,  in  the  hills  of  Champagne. 
W hen  it  was  all  over,  after  the  wire-protected  slopes  had  been  trampled 
as  though  they  were  no  more  than  bramble  patches  of  thorny  and  leafless 
berry  bushes,  there  were  no  more  German  gunners  left  in  the  earth- 
banked  machine  gun  nests;  the  Prussian  Guard  were  further  on  their 
way  back  towards  the  Aisne,  and  going  fast,  and  warriors  of  thirteen 
Indian  tribes  looked  down  on  the  town  of  St.  Etienne. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  the  consternation  of  the  Prussian  Guard 
when  the  redskins,  with  war  whoops,  came  out  of  the  forest  in  true 
woodman  style,  reverting  to  the  typical  Indian  fighting  tactics,  disre- 
garding rules  of  modern  warfare,  disregarding  also  the  withering  enemy 
machine  gun  fire,  and  proceeded  to  clean  out  the  nests  of  machine  guns. 
Reports  from  France  indicate  that  the  Indian  was  one  of  the  stanchest, 
coolest  men  under  fire  that  faced  the  Germans  in  the  great  war;  that 
the  Indian  never  knew  fatigue,  never  knew  fear,  smiled  in  the  face  of 
death,  and  fought  stubbornly  with  a determination  to  win,  no  matter 
what  the  odds. 


WHEX  “THE  CHIEF”  SMILED 
( From  the  “Brooklyn  Citizen”) 

“The  Chief”  is  Private  Ross,  a full-blooded  Ute  Indian,  a member  of 

the Infantry.  About  a year  ago  he  threw  up  his  job  of  herding 

sheep  in  Southern  Arizona,  walked  fifty  miles  down  to  Bisbee,  “rode 
the  reds”  to  El  Paso,  and  enlisted.  In  the  training  camp  he  was  nick- 
named "The  Chief,”  and  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  unusual  scouting 
abilities.  He  was  assigned  as  battalion  scout,  which  pleased  him  so  much 
that  he  smiled  — for  the  first  time. 

Chief  Ross  is  hardly  a model  soldier.  He  rarely  salutes  an  officer, 
says  “Ugh”  for  “Yes,  sir,”  and  shakes  his  head  for  “No,  sir.”  But 
“The  Chief”  wiped  out  all  the  little  black  marks  for  sins  of  omission 
in  the  fighting  on  the  Yesle. 

A lone  machine  gun  in  a stone  building  about  200  yards  in  front  of 
the  Americans  was  holding  up  the  advance.  It  was  broad  daylight- — • 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  task  of  silencing  the  machine  gun 
was  given  to  “Chief”  Ross  and  a picked  patrol  of  three  other  men.  The 
emplacement  was  “spotted''  in  the  upper  window  of  the  stone  house. 
Two  men  were  left  out  in  front  in  the  bushes  to  draw  the  fire  of  the  gun. 
while  Ross  stealthily  worked  up  toward  one  side  of  the  building  and  his 
companion  on  the  other.  Ross  edged  around  to  where  he  could  see  the 
muzzle  of  the  machine  gun  protruding  from  the  window.  Two  seconds 
later  a well-placed  grenade  burst  in  the  room,  killing  two  Germans  and 
shattering  the  machine  gun.  The  surviving  German  executed  a strategic 
retreat  through  the  rear  window  and  slid  down  to  the  ground  behind  the 

[7] 


building,  where  he  would  be  protected  by  another  machine  gun  further 
back. 

It  was  sure  death  to  try  to  reach  the  running  German  from  either 
side  of  the  building.  The  German  was  cunning,  but  not  so  cunning  as 
“The  Chief.”  He  swung  himself  up  to  the  window  and  crawled  rapidly 
up  the  roof  toward  the  ridgepole.  From  that  point  of  vantage  he  could 
see  the  enemy  without  danger  to  himself.  Three  shots  stopped  the  fleeing 
Boche. 

That  was  when  “The  Chief”  smiled  the  second  time. 

To  turn  to  the  war  work  accomplished  at  home  by  Indian  men, 
women,  and  children,  it  is  a stirring  fact  that  Indians  subscribed 
$10,000,000  to  the  first  two  Liberty  Loans,  which  meant  a per  capita 
subscription  of  more  than  thirty  dollars  for  all  Indians  in  the  United 
States.  In  Red  Cross  campaigns  the  same  spirit  was  shown.  At  the  Globe 
(Arizona)  Chapter  of  the  Red  Cross,  hi  Apaches  appeared  one  day  last 
winter  with  $222  in  their  hands.  “We  want  to  join  the  Red  Cross,”  they 
said.  “We  are  the  first  contingent;  200  more  will  come  next  time.” 
Thirty  thousand  Indian  pupils  worked  for  the  Red  Cross,  and  six  Indian 
girls  were  assigned  to  hospital  work  overseas.  In  one  far  Western 
reservation,  the  Red  Cross  emblem  is  displayed  in  every  window ; and 
at  one  of  the  Government  boarding  schools  for  Sioux  children,  the 
children  organized  a Junior  Red  Cross  and  succeeded  in  raising  funds 
for  228  memberships.  On  some  reservations,  baskets  were  made  and 
sold  for  the  Red  Cross;  and  a “chief”  named  Ma-ha-wa,  the  Conqueror, 
hearing  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Belgians,  sent  to  the  relief  fund  twenty 
dollars  raised  by  selling  corn,  and  received  a grateful  and  appreciative 
letter  of  acknowledgment  from  the  Belgian  minister  for  his  gift.  At 
Carlisle  School,  forty-four  of  the  older  girls  offered  their  services  during 
their  recreation  periods  for  sewing  and  other  service  when  the  women 
of  Carlisle  organized  a Navy  League;  and  the  women  of  a reservation 
near  Syracuse  started  a class,  under  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
the  State  Agricultural  College,  for  the  study  of  foods,  canning,  and  home 
economics. 

In  increased  food  production,  Indians  have  been  of  the  greatest 
service,  and  last  year's  reports  showed  a marked  increase  in  production 
and  a determination  to  excel  all  records  this  season.  In  a message  to 
the  “Great  White  Father”  at  Washington,  Medicine  Owl,  chief  of  the 
Blackfeet  Tribe  of  Montana,  expressed  his  people’s  sentiment  when  he 
said:  “We  will  plant  more  corn  to  feed  your  soldiers,  and  we  will  raise 
more  goats  and  sheep  that  your  soldiers  may  be  clothed;  and  if  you  call 
11s  to  arms,  we  will  go  to  the  front  and  fight  for  you !” 

[8] 


THE  INDIAN  SOLDIER 

BY  GEORGE  STEELE  SEYMOUR 

Lord  of  the  mountain  and  the  plain  he  stands, 

Ready  and  prompt  to  take  his  country’s  part; 

Erect,  with  steadfast  eyes  and  willing  hands 
And  loyal  heart. 

Like  the  proud  eagle  who  on  dauntless  wing 
Makes  his  unfettered  way  across  the  blue, 

He  knows  no  law  but  Nature’s,  and  no  king 
But  Manitou. 

Out  on  the  prairie,  at  his  wild  sire's  knee, 

He  early  learned  all  tyrants  to  despise, 

The  common  hate  of  men  by  strength  made  free, 

By  courage  wise. 

So  when  the  war-cry  roused  the  peaceful  morn 
With  its  fell  threat  to  all  he  holds  most  dear, 

True  to  his  blood,  Columbia’s  eldest  born 
Responded,  " Here  ! ” 

Son  of  a great,  unconquerable  line; 

Into  his  hand  put  Freedom’s  holy  grail. 

And  though  for  him  it  hold  but  Death’s  dark  wine, 

He  will  not  fail. 

— From  the  “American  Indian  Magazine.” 

Since  the  night  of  February  24,  when  we  saw  in  Symphony  Hall, 
most  of  us  for  the  first  time  I imagine,  the  insignia  of  the  Red  Hand  on 
the  left  shoulder  of  the  men  of  Co.  L,  6th  Mass.,  now  the  372d  Infantry, 
we  have  seen  many  of  them  on  our  streets;  and  I wonder  if  you  have 
been  struck,  as  I have,  by  the  fine,  dignified  bearing  of  those  men.  They 
all  belong  to  the  93d  Division  of  the  National  Army,  and  the  story  of 
the  insignia,  as  told  by  an  officer  of  the  371st  Regiment,  is  that  this 
division,  which  was  a provisional,  not  a complete  division,  was  sent  into 
action  as  part  of  a French  division,  the  157th,  whose  insignia  was  the 
Red  Hand,  and  our  regiments  took  this  mark  from  them.  This  division, 
as  I have  said,  was  not  a full  division.  It  was  made  up  of  four  infantry 
regiments,  three  of  them  National  Guard  regiments;  the  369th,  formerly 
the  15th  New  York,  called  by  the  Germans  “Hell  Fighters”;  the  370th, 
formerly  the  8th  Illinois,  the  “Black  Devils";  the  371st,  a draft  regi- 
ment ; and  the  372d,  formerly  Co.  L,  with  troops  from  Maryland  and 
Tennessee.  This  division  trained  at  Camp  Hill,  Virginia,  but  the  92d, 
which  was  a complete  division,  trained  at  different  camps,  there  being 
a fear  of  having  30,000  Negroes  together  in  any  one  place.  Of  the 
infantry  regiments  in  this  division,  we  have  heard  most  about  the  367th, 
which  trained  at  Camp  Upton,  and  which  was  the  only  regiment  in  the 

[9] 


camp  which  could  claim  to  be  ioo  per  cent  American.  This  regiment 
was  called  the  “Buffaloes,”  the  name  being  derived  from  the  fact  that 
some  of  the  colored  officers  in  it  had  served  in  the  regular  army  out  West, 
where  the  Indians  said  that  the  Negroes  advanced  like  buffaloes,  head 
downward. 

In  all  there  were  400,000  Negroes  in  the  army,  with  1,200  officers, 
while  before  the  war  there  were  only  four  regiments  and  less  than  twelve 
officers.  I think  it  is  extremely  interesting  to  know  how  well  the  Negroes 
stood  physically  as  compared  to  the  whites.  Mr.  Scott  stated  at  Symphony 
Hall  that  though  the  Negroes  were  only  8 per  cent  of  the  men  registered 
under  the  draft,  they  were  15  per  cent,  or  almost  twice  as  large  a pro- 
portion, of  the  men  actually  called. 

And  now  a word  about  the  colored  officer.  There  was  much  doubt 
expressed  as  to  the  advisability  of  having  colored  officers  in  the  army. 
Many  said  that  Negroes  would  not  fight  unless  led  by  white  men,  and 
from  what  I hear  there  are  varying  opinions  still.  Major  Moton,  I 
thought,  was  very  fair  about  it,  as  he  always  is  on  every  subject.  He 
admitted  that  many  colored  officers  had  been  sent  back  after  their 
baptism  of  fire.  He  told  of  two  brothers  named  Jones,  whom  he  knew 
personally,  one  of  whom  failed  entirely;  the  other  held  a trench,  though 
badly  wounded,  and  was  made  a captain.  We  hear  that  one  white  officer 
said  that,  as  he  was  going  “over  the  top,”  he  looked  around  and  saw  his 
men  were  not  following  him ; and  we  also  hear  that  the  colonel  of  the 
370th,  which  had  all  colored  officers  except  three  — the  colonel  and  two 
others  — said  of  his  regiment  that  the  only  trouble  with  it  was  “they 
didn’t  want  to  stop!”  It  is  impossible  to  sift  out  all  the  evidence  for 
and  against.  I dare  say  it  will  never  be  proved.  I think  in  the  majority 
of  instances  it  was  a case  of  the  personality  of  the  officer  himself,  and 
there  is  no  question  but  that  some  of  them  did  splendidly.  The  only 
conclusion  that  can  be  drawn  is  that  the  colored  officers,  having  to  over- 
come the  natural  prejudice  that  their  men  felt  about  taking  orders  from 
men  of  their  own  race,  had  to  be  of  somewhat  stronger  character  than 
white  men  in  the  same  positions.  And,  as  Major  Moton  said,  if  colored 
men,  who  have  never  had  any  opportunity  to  lead  or  govern  men  except 
in  their  churches,  granges,  and  fraternal  organizations,  had  proved  as 
efficient  as  white  officers  in  this  war,  it  would  have  been  a disgrace  to 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race  ! 

Most  of  the  colored  troops  crossed  in  June,  and  twenty  days  after 
landing  were  in  action,  and  continued  to  be  so  until  the  day  the  Armistice 
was  signed,  when  the  369th  was  the  American  regiment  nearest  the 
Rhine,  with  a record  of  191  days  in  the  trenches  and  none  of  its  number 
taken  prisoner!  This  regiment  was  in  France  longer  than  any  of  the 
others,  having  crossed  in  November,  1917,  and  serving  with  the  4th  French 
Army  under  General  Gouraud  from  March  12,  1918,  and  having  its 


hardest  fighting  just  west  of  the  Argonne.  The  French  Army  order, 
citing  the  entire  regiment  for  the  Croix  de  Guerre,  reads  as  follows: 

“Under  command  of  Colonel  Hayward,  who,  though  wounded, 
insisted  on  leading  his  regiment  in  battle ; of  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Pickering,  admirably  cool  and  brave;  of  Major  Cobb  (killed)  and 
Major  Spencer  (severely  wounded)  ; of  Major  Little,  a true  leader 
of  men,  the  369th  reserve  Infantry,  U.  S.  A.,  engaging  in  an  offen- 
sive for  the  first  time  in  the  drive  of  September,  1918,  stormed 
powerful  enemy  positions,  energetically  defended,  too,  after  heavy 

fighting,  the  town  of  S , captured  prisoners,  and  brought  hack- 

six  cannon  and  a great  number  of  machine  guns/' 

And  in  all  our  pride  and  enthusiasm  over  the  men  who  were  thus 
honored  by  France  and  this  country  for  the  glorious  part  they  played 
amid  the  noise  and  thunder  of  the  front  lines,  let  us  not  forget  the 
thousands  of  men  of  the  service  battalions  and  stevedore  regiments  who, 
at  the  ports  of  Bordeaux,  Brest,  St.  Nazaire,  etc.,  and  at  the  Service  of 
Supplies,  helped  by  their  unceasing  and  tireless  efforts  to  back  up  the 
men  at  the  front.  Mr.  Wright,  a Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary,  who  was  with 
one  of  those  regiments,  has  told  of  how  these  men,  of  all  grades,  from 
the  lowest,  most  uneducated  navvy  from  Florida  or  Georgia  to  the 
graduate  of  Hampton,  Tuskegee,  Fisk  University,  even  of  Harvard  and 
the  New  England  Conservatory  of  Music,  performed  for  numberless 
hours  at  a stretch  the  hardest  kind  of  physical  labor,  unloading  the  great 
ships  at  those  ports  and  shipping  food,  ammunition,  and  supplies  of 
every  kind  to  the  men  who  were  playing  a more  dangerous  and  heroic, 
but  no  more  important,  part  in  the  great  struggle  at  the  front.  One  and 
all  of  those  brave  colored  men  have  done  their  part  gladly  and  willingly 
for  our  country  and  the  world,  and  is  it  strange  that  they  should  look 
eagerly  and  hopefully  forward  to  seeing  that  the  democracy  for  which 
they  have  given  their  blood  should  be  a democracy  for  the  black  man 
as  well  as  for  the  white  ? 

Mr.  Emmet  J.  Scott,  secretary  of  Tuskegee,  who  as  special  assistant 
to  the  Secretary  of  War  has  been  in  a position  to  know  all  the  problems 
and  difficulties  connected  with  the  Negro  soldiers,  and  whose  services 
have  been  invaluable  to  the  Department  and  the  Army,  in  speaking  at 
the  annual  Tuskegee  Negro  Conference,  in  January,  on  the  problems 
connected  with  the  demobilization  of  Negro  soldiers,  expressed  so  well 
the  feeling  of  thousands  of  thinking  and  serious-minded  men  of  both 
races  that  I am  going  to  close  by  quoting  him.  At  the  end  of  his  address 
he  said : 

“Nearly  400,000  gallant  black  soldiers,  ‘fruit  and  flower  of  the  Negro 
race,’  have  helped  to  make  the  world  safe  for  Freedom  and  Democracy; 
many  of  them  have  fought,  bled,  and  died  that  their  country's  ideals 

[11] 


might  triumph.  If,  in  the  hour  of  her  travail  and  danger,  the  Xegro  has 
neither  faltered  nor  failed  in  pledging  his  life,  his  labor,  his  money,  his 
all  in  defense  of  his  country’s  safety  and  honor,  surely  in  the  hour  of 
victory  and  prosperity  he  will  not  be  denied  fair  treatment  and  the  recom- 
pense accorded  other  soldiers  because  of  his  valuable  services  and 
unswerving  patriotism.  The  Negro  asks  the  full  protection  of  the  law, 
to  be  left  unhindered  and  unhampered  in  his  industrial  and  commercial 
pursuits,  to  be  given  a fair  deal  and  full  opportunity  to  educate  his 
children,  and  to  work  out  his  own  destiny- — being  loyal  to  his  family, 
to  his  community,  to  his  country,  and  to  his  God!” 


[12] 


